Translations of ECtHR judgments: what you need to know

The official languages of the European Court of Human Rights are English and French — only texts in those languages are authentic. Everything you read in Romanian or Russian is a translation, and the status of that translation matters legally. This guide explains the differences and how to work correctly with each type.

Three categories of text

1. The original (authentic text)

The English and/or French version published in HUDOC, the Court's official database. Only this text can be relied on as authoritative wording — any close analysis of language (the exact sense of a phrase, the nuance of a legal test) is done on the original.

2. The official translation

For many important cases, translations published in HUDOC itself have been produced or institutionally validated. These are the standard working tool: faithful, checked, and citable as a translation with the source stated.

3. The machine translation

For judgments without an official translation, Precedentia provides machine translations — useful for grasping a case quickly and for searching, but never cited as the Court's text.

How the status is shown on Precedentia

Every ECtHR case displays a visible translation badge next to the title: “Official HUDOC translation” or “Machine translation”. The original text always remains available in the “Original” tab on the same page, so any passage can be checked against the authentic version immediately.

Practical working rules

1. Researching and orienting yourself — a translation, official or machine, is enough;
2. Citing a general principle — use the official translation if one exists; failing that, paraphrase the idea with a reference to the original paragraph;
3. Building an argument on exact wording — cite the English or French original with the paragraph (§), optionally accompanied by your own translation, marked as such;
4. Filing with the court — attach the original text or the official translation, not a machine translation.

Why the paragraph, not the page

Paragraph numbering (§) is identical across every language version of a judgment — which is why citing by paragraph (see the citation guide) keeps the reference verifiable whatever language the reader works in.

Where to find translated cases

The ECtHR catalogue on Precedentia lists the cases available in Romanian; the article pages group them thematically. Every page states the HUDOC source for verification.